1 The Iditarod dog sled race is known as the world's -------- race.
A worst
B longest and most difficult
C most ceremonial
D biggest prize

2 The people in Anchorage ----------.
A don't like the race
B wish the race was someplace else
C make a big event out of the race
C are Iditariders

(B) Conclusions

1 If it takes the dog sleds 10 - 14 days to travel the 1000 miles to Nome, about how far do they have to go each day? -----------
A 20 miles
B over 200 miles
C 150 - 170 miles
D 70 -100 miles

2 What do you think Linda Joy means when she says "It's not important to
win, I have a yearling team and I want as many happy tails when I cross the finish line"? -----------
A She doesn't want to win.
B Yearling teams can't win.
C She wants all of her dogs to be alive when they finish the race.
D She wants her dogs to have fun.

(A) Multiple Choice
1. B 2. C

(B) Conclusions

1. D 2. C

Is it just race day excitement? Or can these Alaskan huskies actually be eager to go on what may be the world's longest and most grueling endurance contest? The Iditarod dog sled race (is such a contest).

The voice of the race announcer booms over Fourth St. in downtown Anchorage as the racers set off on their long journey, "They're off. The last great race..."

Fifty-six sleds left the downtown Anchorage starting line every two minutes. It'll be ten days to two weeks before they reach the finish line at Nome on the other side of Alaska.

Linda Joy, dog sled musher says on race day, "It's not important to win. I have a yearling team. And I want as many happy tails when I cross the finish line."

Russell Lane, a full-blooded Eskimo, says his rookie run may help his people maintain a tie to the old ways, "I'm the only musher from the arctic slope, so I'm real proud to be representing my people."

Australian Stephen Carrick says he knows why he runs the race, when he crosses the finish line. "I did it last year. When I got to Nome, the sensation was awesome and I knew I had to have more of this."

Dee Dee Jonrowe has finished in the top ten in eight previous runs. "I was just telling my husband, happy birthday, today's his birthday and his present is sending me out of town."

Race contributors like actor Gary Collins , so called Iditariders, ride along an easy 20 miles to Eagle River. He says of the ride, "This is a no brainer, for me. The biggest problem is keeping my nose warm.. Ha ha."

"For many, the ceremonial start day may be the most exciting of the race. There's the crowds and the festivities. But outside of Anchorage the crowds thin out pretty fast, and for more than a thousand miles of frozen Alaska it's the mushers and their dogs." Smaller crowds catch up with the sleds as the trail loops around Anchorage. As fans cheered, an embarrassed musher watched his dogs try to avoid a roadway under crossing.

Twenty miles out of town the ceremonial run comes to an end, now it's time to get serious about the Iditarod.

Racer Aaron Burmeister says of the first day, "Really there's not a whole lot of strategy, just get yourself into the schedule and get rolling."